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“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or
come with me and change the world?” – Steve
Jobs

I sometimes wish that instead of working on internet and software
projects, I worked on cleantech or biotech projects. That way,
when I came home at night, I’d know that I had literally spent my
day trying to cure cancer or prevent global warming. But
information technology is what I know, and it’s probably too late
for me to learn a new field from scratch.

That doesn’t mean information technology can’t improve people’s
lives. Google’s search engine helps people find information,
which, for example, makes cancer and cleantech researchers more
productive. Skype
allows companies to collaborate remotely, and connects people
with friends and family around the world. In the area of
information technology, we create infrastructure and hope that
people use it for more good than bad.

That said, the best entrepreneurs seem to follow a path of
increasing gravitas. Scott
Heiferman started out selling online ads and is now creating
new communities. Jack
Dorsey created Twitter
and is now democratizing payments so sole proprietors can compete
on a level playing field with large companies. Elon
Musk started with online payments and is now developing
electric cars and space programs.

Founders of large companies sometimes also follow the path of
increasing gravitas. Google is
developing new energy technologies, self-driving cars and other
world-changing technologies. Bill
Gates devotes almost all of his time and money to charity.

The tech press is preoccupied with investments, trends, exits,
and other “inside baseball” topics. But these are all means to an
end. Investments provide fuel for entrepreneurs to convert ideas
into products. Trends shape the terrain that entrepreneurs
navigate. Exits provide financial incentives for investors and
entrepreneurs.

Tim O’Reilly says that entrepreneurs should try to create
more value than they capture. You can make money selling
people obscure financial products, entertaining them with
mind-numbing TV shows, or selling them sugar water decorated in
elegant designs.

Alternatively, you can make something that matters and — if you
are lucky and smart — change the world.